Yasawa's accom reccomendations March 2010

Hi Travellers,

Am planning a very last minute honeymoon in early March and am interested in the Yasawa region of Fiji (had heard it is least affected by the wet season... True??). Initially had gone through travel agents but they keep giving me ridiculously lavish travel options, we have a smallish budget and I just wanted some accomodation tips in this region, had a look at the Octopus Resort and looks quite nice and reasonably priced, are there any other suggestions for mid range comfortable accomodation in this region? Our main goal is to snorkel, swim, read and hike without throwing money away on super upmarket resorts. Any tips and avice would be much appreciated xox

Octopus is a great option as it is not far from the Port at Denerau (about 1 1/4 hours, has great snorkelling, a pool, very nice beach, and nice huts. A cheaper more basic option is Oarsmans , and this place has a much nicer beach, but basic food and is 4 hours on the ferry.Another (more basic and thus cheaper) place I like is Manta Resort (20 mins past Octopus), but again, basic food, pleasant but not great beach.

Mamanuca's are easier to get to. I would recommend Amunuca Island Resort.
Travelonline has 50 % off deal advertised at present. A$373 per person for 6 nights.
Alternatively iIf you book a holiday with Air New Zealand before the 14th Jan you can get Helicopter transfers for NZ$ 99 per person each way. The chopper is a much better trip than the boat out to either the Mamanuca's or Yasawa's.
Air New Zealand's accommodation cost is probably similar to Travelonline.
Have booked on both websites with no problems.

I can really recommend Blue Lagoon Beach Resort. It's a sister resort to Octopus, and on the same beach as Oarsmans. Have a look at their website. Brand new. Great swimming and snorkelling straight off the beach at all tides. Very good food. Same quality as Octopus but smaller & quieter.

Thanks for the advice guys, really a choice between Octopus on Waya Island and Blue Lagoon on Nacula. Any advice/opinions on which Island has better snorkling close to shore? on a bit of a shoe string and don't want to have to book too many tours to get some good snorkelling...

Also... having a look into the Yasawa Flyer, its hard to find pricing info online, any ballpark figure for costs from to Nadi to Waya Island and/or Nadi to Nacula Island?

Flyer - to Waya FJ$100 pp one way. To Nacula - I think $120/$130? Both have good snorkelling straight off the beach - possibly better at Blue Lagoon. That also has the advantage of all tides sandy bottom swimming at all stages of the tide, (Octopus swimming from beach at half tide or above, unless you swim out through the boat channel into deeper water - although they have a pool to compensate.)

For snorkelling, I would recommend Manta bay resort, there is a marine reserve which guarantee some awesome underwater experiences.
On the other hand, I did travel from island to island and that´s what I would recommend to everyone who goes there, rather than staying on one island, but that depends on your preferences.

Seeing the Mantas near Manta Resort is worthwhile even if not staying there.

Like many others, I highly recommend Blue Lagoon Resort on Nacula which just opened. Same owners as Octopus, and way above the typical standard of most resorts on the Yasawas. I heard good things about Manta Ray resort but did not stay there during my trip.

The level of standard at octopus and blue lagoon is stunning. Not just good. Two of the best, most romantic spots I've traveled to.

I would not skip the yasawas because of the long boat ride -- they are spectacular and the ride is a lot of fun. It is nice to see more than one island / beach / reef / village on your trip.

Regarding getting there:
Octopus often offers a direct transfer from the mainland for less than the yasawa flyer so this is one way you can reduce costs a little and get there faster. But generally, if you spend 3 nights in a spot then move up the island chain to another spot you'll be a happy traveler and see some new things. And the yasawa flyer is a fast, large boat which makes for a pleasant cruise.

Regarding using an agent:
We had a few bad experiences using travel agents and I know the resorts don't like them either because most earn 15-25% commission on your reservations. So if you book direct, you could get a better rate. Our bad experience was getting a refund from the agent on places when we checked out early -- promised, but still not in my account. And agents have little incentive to book you into less expensive but nicer resorts -- they want to increase their commission $$$.